Kazis[FN#68] and the Emirs and was about to divest himself of the
rule royal, when behold, in came Al Mu'in bin Sawi. The Sultan
gave him the Caliph's letter and he read it, then tore it to
pieces and putting it into his mouth, chewed it[FN#69] and spat
it out. "Woe to thee," quoth the Sultan (and indeed he was sore
angered); "what induced thee to do this deed?" "Now by thy life!
O our lord the Sultan," replied Mu'in, "this man hath never
foregathered with the Caliph nor with his Wazir; but he is a
gallows-bird, a limb of Satan, a knave who, having come upon a
written paper in the Caliph's hand, some idle scroll, hath made
it serve his own end. The Caliph would surely not send him to
take the Sultanate from thee without the imperial
autograph[FN#70] and the diploma of investiture, and he certainly
would have despatched with him a Chamberlain or a Minister. But
he hath come alone and he never came from the Caliph, no, never!
never! never!" "What is to be done?" asked the Sultan, and the
Minister answered, "Leave him to me and I will take him and keep
him away from thee, and send him in charge of a Chamberlain to
Baghdad-city. Then, if what he says be sooth, they will bring us
back autograph and investiture; and if not, I will take my due
out of this debtor." When the Sultan heard the Minister's words
he said, "Hence with thee and him too." Al Mu'in took trust of
him from the King and, carrying him to his own house, cried out
to his pages who laid him flat and beat him till he fainted.
Then he let put upon his feet heavy shackles and carried him to
the jail, where he called the jailor, one Kutayt,[FN#71] who came
and kissed the ground before him. Quoth the Wazir, "O Kutayt, I
wish thee to take this fellow and throw him into one of the
underground cells[FN#72] in the prison and torture him night and
day." "To hear is to obey," replied the jailor and, taking Nur